The present invention is directed to accessories for a tree stand. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a collapsible seat and a climbing aid which interlock and can be utilized on virtually any tree stand.
There has been a great deal of development recently in the design of tree stands for hunters. One area that has yet to be adequately addressed is the provision of a miniature climbing aid. Several climbing aids are available but they are bulky and usually include a harness seat or the like. Further, the harness seat connection to the climbing aid is restricting making it difficult for a bow hunter to position herself/himself for a shot given that the target will inevitably approach from the least convenient direction.
Another area of concern is the provision of a simple seat that can be affixed to virtually any tree stand, collapsible to a stored position for transport and, yet, providing a suitable place to sit for the hunter who may well need to spend hours on the tree stand to bag his quarry.
The seat and tree climbing aid of the present invention are designed to be used together with virtually any commercially available tree stand. The seat of the present invention comprises an L-shaped bracket securable to a floor portion of a tree stand by bolting a first leg of the L-shaped bracket thereto. A support is pivotally attached at a first end to a second leg of the L-shaped bracket and a seat is pivotally attached to a second end of the support. A first bolt secures the support in a first storage position adjacent the first leg of said L-shaped bracket for transport. A second bolt is used to secure the support in a second upright position adjacent the second leg of the L-shaped bracket.
The L-shaped bracket of the seat has a maximum width that is less than a dimension between the first and second support arms of the climbing aid so that the two may be easily assembled on the tree stand for transport. A hole through the cross bar of the climbing aid receives the first bolt and a securing nut is threaded on behind the climbing aid to hold it in place.
The climbing aid is an H-shaped frame having a first vertical member, a second parallel vertical member and an orthogonal horizontal member interconnecting said first and second member; two hand grips extending out of the plane of the H-shaped frame. A first cable-securing means is affixed to the first vertical member. A second cable-securing means is affixed to the second vertical member; in use, a steel cable forms a loop extending between said first and second cable-securing means, the loop loosely encircling an element to be climbed. Adjustable clamping means is associated with at least one of the cable-securing means to permit the steel cable loop to be fixed in a desired adjusted position to accommodate a particular diameter of element to be climbed; whereby the steel cable may be loosely looped around the element to be climbed and locked by the adjustable clamping means, the climbing aid i) being manually positioned at a higher level by a user grasping the two hand grips reaching the climbing aid upwardly to get the steel cable to bite the element to be climbed, ii) the user pulling herself/himself up, iii) obtaining a foot hold at this elevated position and repeating steps i)-iii) to climb the element to be climbed.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent after a reading of the following specification.